Forty degrees does wonders on my soul....

TODAY: The girls did a craft. / Mems spent majority of the day in her pull-up and only her pull-up. / Erik solved his rubiks cube for any/every audience he could wrangle. / We washed dishes and did laundry. / We played on the swings in the backyard. / We had a basketball game and cousins over to play. / We took a bike ride to the park. (It was wet, and slushy - but so very worth it.)

And all of these together reminded me just how much I love summertime.

I can't wait for it to warm up.

(On the side: As I was leaving for the basketball game, I told the girls I'd pay them real money if they shoveled the iceberg at the end of our driveway. They did - and did almost all of it all by themselves! But then later I heard stories of how they accidentally hit each other a couple times with wet shovels of snow during the process. (I laughed on the inside - and secretly wished I could have seen that in person. I love these girls.) I offered them each a dollar and a "THANK YOU!" for their work - but Robs practically marched in place with a sign. (...Girlfriend might have politics in her future.) I upped it to two. Robs was barely satisfied, and Mae carried it with her for the rest of the afternoon.)

Best Saturday of the year so far...

feeding ducks in the snow...

We've had weeks of snow and cold. And snow and cold. And snow and cold... 

So today, when it hit forty five degrees outside it felt practically tropical. I felt like celebrating. Frolicking? Running? Jumping? Skipping? Anything! As long as it was outside. (The cabin fever has been especially intense this year.)

But the kids were still cold. (After walking home from school, Robs curled up on the couch with a book and asked for a blanket.) 

But after a tiny bit of convincing, Robs and Mems agreed to come celebrate with me. (And after they got used to it, forty degrees felt tropical to them too.) Adventuring with the pirates individually (or with only a couple of them, like this afternoon) is so fun! 

I'm so grateful for this warmer weather, even if it doesn't last for all that long. If we could only have them every couple of days for the next six weeks...

aaaaalmost

Right before Erik started walking I distinctly remember wondering what it was going to be like to have two kids walking... But now that Reesiepiece is only a couple steps away from stepping out... I can't wait! I'll have FIVE kids walking. Hard to believe... because I swear Erik was learning to walk only months ago. Time passes so fast. 

(Ha! It's funny to be talking about Erik and walking today - because he sprained his ankle at school playing basketball. He came home with a melted ice pack tucked into his sock.) 

We're loving having Reesie in this stage. When she takes little steps we cheer. And she gets such a thrill from standing up all by herself. Sometimes she'll stand up long enough to get us all looking, and then plop herself down on purpose. I sometimes wonder if it's just so she can see our reaction. (We love this baby!)

Fort Pajama

On Sunday, Robs built a fort on our bed. She used every blanket, and every pillow she could find and called it her "PAJAMA FORT." She even found a red dish towel and fixed it on a pole so she could "wave her colors." It was fantastic - and the younger girls were practically beside themselves with the perfection of it all. (Sunday morning and fort building is a match made in heaven.)

I will always remember the day I found out Robs was a girl. I was elated. (I'd had an inkling all along that I was carrying my girl.) I would have been just as happy to have a boy at the start, of course, but I'd always wanted a girl! And my little Robs is everything I ever wanted. Happy. Brilliant. Creative. Kind. Bossy, in the best sense of the word. And an amazing builder of forts.

The girls played for at least a half an hour. Each of them took different roles and played their little hearts out - until Steve stumbled on the scene. And took to bombing it with all the stuffed animals he could find. (Thanks to Mae we have quite the collection!) 

We haven't had such a fun Sunday morning in a long time! (Erik came up to join the fun too... but my camera battery had died by then.)

I love families. I love how each family has a different dynamic - and every member of the family matters. It's the best way to organize people, and still make sure every person gets the attention and love they need. It's genius and it's, so. very. fun.

After several rounds of bombing, Steve took the kids downstairs to write a treaty. He used his "bad guy" signature, and had each of the kids sign their names to represent the peace agreement. (It was about time to get ready for church... so we needed to find a deal quickly.) Mems signed hers too, although hers looked more like a drawing with a happy little face and stick arms. 

something so simple.

Halfway through playing in the leaves Mae told me she was going to write about this in her journal the next day. I need to remember to give more time to every day adventures. Because they matter - a lot! I love these girls.